The Heart of the Story
by Cre8ivelybankrupt87
Summary: A critical re-evaluation of Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie, and the whole series by extension.
1. Chapter 1

**_I started writing this piece a year ago, and after much thought and deliberation I've decided to finally share it. This is why I couldn't be a professional journalist... I can't do deadlines. This was intended just to be my personal review of The Jungle Movie, but ended up turning into a much longer analysis._**

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**Rediscovering HA!**

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After being forced to wait more than a decade for the fabled Jungle Movie to see the light of day, longtime fans of Hey Arnold! finally had their faith rewarded with much needed closure for their beloved football-headed hero. It's a not so small miracle that this movie even exists, and serves as a testament to the love fans have retained for the series that led to its release. And sadly… I cannot count myself among the people who helped make it happen. I wish I could say I took part in the fan movement to revive TJM, but I had largely forgotten about the show by the time the project started gaining real momentum in 2012. As a 90s kid exactly Arnold's age when the show first came out, the show was definitely a presence in my childhood, though at the time I didn't count it as a major one. I actually had a weird love/hate relationship with the show and an undeserved hatred for Nickelodeon in general purely because I didn't get cable TV, and so the world of Nicktoons kind of felt like a clique I just wasn't part of. Yet I still managed to find ways to watch the channel irregularly outside my home, typically at my grandparents' house while my parents were away (meta…). I basically loved Nickelodeon they way Helga loved Arnold; as something that I was afraid to admit to liking for fear that it was unobtainable. Even after my parents finally got cable, Hey Arnold! was never a show I actively sought out, yet out of all the Nicktoons I've found its emotional beats stuck with me over the years, even if I didn't fully realize it at first.

I remember reading somewhere in early 2017 that HA! was being rebooted, which didn't get much of a reaction from me at the time. Later, by quirk of fate I found myself randomly watching the old Sesame Street claymation Arnold short on youtube, which then brought up several videos detailing something called "Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie." This finally jogged my memory and I remembered the final episode "The Journal," which I didn't even realize was the final episode when it aired back in 2004. Suddenly interested, I did my homework and rewatched many of the best and most crucial episodes of the series to prepare for this long awaited conclusion. This then snowballed into me binging the entire series, whereupon I was shocked to find that not only did the show hold up to scrutiny, but wow… it aged like a flipping fine wine. And that's not rose-tinted nostalgia goggles talking since I only had a passing interest in the show as a kid. Then I finally watched TJM itself and… I thought it was okay. At first.

TJM premiered to a largely positive reaction from fans and critics alike. Of the major reviews I read, the AV Club absolutely loved it, whereas IGN and Den of Geek gave decidedly more mixed reviews. At first I sided more with the latter group, seeing only small aspects of the film standing out as exceptional. I thought of it as kind of a movie salad with bacon bits; sure it was mostly just fine, but those little chunks of delicious bacon elevated it to an enjoyable experience. As with the series however, it later dawned on me later that it was the little things that mattered most. Ironically, it was some blogger's scathingly vitriolic review of the movie that prompted me to go back and reevaluate it for myself. The criticisms in this particular review harped on the focus on the subject of Arnold's parents, which was arguably never central to the plot of the show, turning lovable everyman Arnold into a mystical chosen one, and generally not staying true to the more down to earth spirit of the series in favor of a large scale epic adventure. I actually kind of weirdly agreed with those criticisms (without all the vitriol in their review… I mean they just HATED the movie…), and bringing some of those issues to the forefront challenged my already lukewarm perception of the movie. Bearing those criticisms in mind I rewatched the movie, and like some kind of immunization, thinking of those perceived flaws actually strengthened the film in my eyes somehow. At a Comic Con panel promoting the film a year earlier, the cast and crew touched on the multiple layers to the film, rather like the show, and the necessity of multiple viewings to fully appreciate the story, and having done so I can now vouch for that being quite true; I got more out of the movie upon repeated viewings. My position now is that despite its faraway epic jungle setting, the movie not only captures the spirit of the series, but also all of its wonderful subtleties to the point where they completely went over my head.

To fully appreciate the movie, we must address those three points of criticisms in unnecessary depth starting with the story. The basic premise of TJM focuses on Arnold's journey to San Lorenzo, the Central American country where his parents disappeared nearly a decade earlier. All of Arnold's relationships are tested as he discovers how far he is willing to go to fill the void in his heart. By contrast to the grandiose setting of the movie, HA! was a very down to earth story about urban kids dealing with relatable everyday issues, and occasionally partaking in adventures of varying degrees of wackiness. The urban setting and diverse cast of HA! made it notably unique, but it was the incomparably raw, emotional realness and heartfelt sincerity of the series that made it so memorable. The characters were all quirky, sometimes seemingly stereotypical on the surface, yet deeply layered enough that they felt like real people. The amount of time devoted to fleshing out the deeper human motives of the characters often elevated the show to near Shakespearean levels of complexity… well, for a kids cartoon. While boasting a diverse cast of colorful characters, the show mainly focused on a core trio of kids. At the center of course was the titular Arnold; a mellow, somewhat strange but kind-hearted idealist, Gerald the cool, down to earth, somewhat cynical but loyal and supportive best friend, and the constant thorn in their sides known as Helga, who served as both the relentless neighborhood bully, but also as Arnold's secret admirer (Admirer isn't _nearly_ strong enough of a word). The first point of criticism with TJM is that it's intended as a grand finale to the series, but it is built around a subplot that was never the central conflict of the show: Arnold's absent parents. Looking a little deeper however, HA! distinguished itself by placing importance on its subtext often more than the actual stories unfolding on screen, and that same storytelling is present in TJM. And while Arnold's parents only made a major two appearances in the course of 100 episodes, they are arguably always very present in the subtext of the whole show and a big driving force behind who Arnold is as a person. And while TJM may seem like a real departure from the show, the heart of the story remains with the core characters and their personal journeys as they're all thrust from their urban comfort zone. Moreover, the movie manages to continually fool viewers into thinking that it's following a standard adventure movie formula, but keeps throwing little curve balls into the story that make it unique. It's possible (and likely) that I'm reading way too much into this movie, but hey, over-analyzing kids entertainment is all the rage these days, so let's do this.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Importance of the Parents**

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I can understand why some people may take issue with building the series finale around the conflict with Arnold's missing parents, to a point at least. His mother and father Miles and Stella only appeared in flashbacks in 3 episodes, but while the series never lingered on them outside of those episodes, their absence remained a constant elephant in the room. Arnold was a well-adjusted kid despite his non-traditional upbringing, but he also carried some level of world-wearied sadness beyond his years, and any rare mention of his parents made it pointedly clear that their absence weighed heavily on him, even if he never spoke about it. In fact, Arnold never talking about his parents is a strong indicator that he has a lot of unresolved feelings about them, because in those few times they do come up… the results aren't pretty. In an early seminal episode, Helga steals Arnold's tiny blue cap which sends him into an existential crisis, which just seems kind of ridiculous until later a flashback reveals that the hat was a gift to him from his parents. This brief scene effectively establishes the hat as his only tangible connection to them, and even as a constant visual reminder that he's holding on to the hope of finding them; his hat is the one thing keeping him from having to fully say goodbye to them in his mind. Also, it's never expressly stated but clear that his sadness about their absence served as a major factor in his whole worldview. Arnold constantly strives to do good in the world and make others happy, which according to the show creator Craig Bartlett himself is a result of him trying to compensate for the darkness in his life. He's not constantly depressed about his parents, but he is still fairly melancholy and is always trying to be extra good because of the enormous hole he feels in his heart from not even knowing the fate of his parents.

Speaking of which, why are his parents missing anyway? After a few seasons without a mention, Miles and Stella finally came to the forefront as a major component of Arnold's character in two later episodes. In 'Parents Day,' we learn that Arnold's grandfather has been telling him very romanticized stories about his parents and their adventures. Arnold seems content with these stories, even if he doesn't fully believe their accuracy he still clearly loves hearing them. Later, the events of the Parents Weekend Tournament rouse Arnold's self-consciousness about his non-traditional family and sends him into a funk, prompting his Grandfather to tell him the true story of his parents, revealing they were really scientists aiding remote villages in Central America until they went on one final mission and never returned. After feeling depressed about his parents for a while, Arnold does gain a whole new level of appreciation for his loving grandparents, and in the end he fully accepts them as his surrogate parents. Arnold also quietly accepts the reality that he likely won't ever see his parents again, but still dreams of flying off to find them, leaving this entire plot thread open ended. This episode serves less as an answer about his parents and more of just a meditation on his feelings about the whole situation, and actually ended up raising far more questions than it answered. We know from this story that Arnold's parents disappeared in the jungle, but are they still alive? What happened to them? Will Arnold ever find them? The subject is not touched upon again, until the very end of the series. His parental situation may not have been the central crux of the show on the surface, but it does tie in heavily which is briefly but very cleverly hinted at in the next appearance of Miles and Stella.

The story of Arnold's parents is further expanded upon in "The Journal" which serves as the direct lead in to TJM. It may seem like a sharp left turn to take at the end of the series, but the episode sets up several key plot points that smartly tie it to the arc of the rest of the series. Upon discovering his father's journal, Arnold learns the full story of Miles and Stella's adventures in the jungles of San Lorenzo, their relationship to a mysterious and elusive civilization known as the Green-Eyes people, and their run-in with a notorious relic hunter known as Lasombra. The episode also details the epic and near fantastical story of Arnold's birth, in which he stopped an erupting volcano and silenced all of nature, cementing himself as some kind of messianic figure within the HA! universe. Put a pin in that… more on that later. Despite all the epic backstory, arguably the most important moment in this entire episode is a very brief soliloquy from Helga, where she expresses her desire to fill the hole in Arnold's heart, effectively tying the story of Arnold's parents in with the _real _over-arching story of the entire series which was of course Helga's obsession with Arnold. The series explored the depth of Helga's feelings more than any other subject, as well as Arnold's slow growing awareness of those feelings, and him grappling with his subconscious feelings towards her. To abridge her story, Helga's neglectful family drove her to transfer all her affections to Arnold, the first person to treat her with genuine human interest and kindness. Sadly the complicated and confusing social structure of school shaped Helga into a nasty little bully; a role she only adopted to protect herself from her fundamental fear of rejection and ridicule. She could only confide true feelings of love with her golden heart-shaped locket bearing Arnold's picture, which set the audience on tender hooks waiting for the day she would finally confess to him. The series hinted on multiple times that the two of them were in fact soulmates and the final two seasons strongly indicated the tension between them was finally building to some kind of payoff. While the premise of TJM deals with Arnold's search for his parents, that whole quest really serves as the backdrop for the culmination of Arnold and Helga's connection, because ultimately it's Helga's love for him that serves as the key to saving his parents. These two characters making one another whole is the true heart of the entire series which fortunately doesn't get lost in the jungle… like Arnold's parents. Too soon?


	3. Chapter 3

**Epic Finale to a Mundane Story**

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HA! was mostly episodic, and never indicated it was building to some epic finale, so I understand how concluding an urban slice of life story with an epic jungle adventure may seem a little unwarranted. The show mostly dealt with everyday mundanities of life, but there were several 'adventure' themed episodes in the style of something like 'The Goonies' where the kids would band together to investigate some urban legend or purported supernatural entity, so the huge jungle adventure does seem like a logical extension of that formula. And bearing in mind that a film adaptation of a TV series has to have much higher stakes and a larger scale, the larger scale adventure story is completely appropriate so long as it retains the core of emotional realism central to the show. As for the plot of the movie itself, on a superficial level, TJM seemingly plays by a fairly generic Indiana Jones-esque formula. On his quest to find his parents, Arnold discovers he's in fact the fabled chosen one of the Green-Eyes and saving their civilization is his destiny. If that sounds slightly cliche…well, that's because it is, but the execution of the story, character arcs, thematic elements, and subversions of the usual tropes associated with chosen one narratives make it work on a higher level.

Thematically the movie literally centers on the purity of heart, and I do apologize for the number of times I'm about to use that f***ing word. Throughout his life Arnold basically poured his heart (there I go already) into selflessly helping practically half the denizens of his city in some significant way, but secretly longs to fill a void in his own heart by getting closure on what happened to his long lost parents. In the timeline, a year has passed since the events of "The Journal" and Helga is still struggling to win Arnold's heart. Along with finding ones heart, the other underlying theme of TJM concerns selflessness vs selfishness, which both Helga and now even Arnold struggle with. These themes are cleverly woven into the story, but it's the overall framing of the story that saves the movie from some tired cliched tropes.

When viewing TJM strictly as just Arnold's story, it's basically the standard chosen one fulfilling a prophesy narrative, and if I haven't made this clear by now, I generally hate chosen one stories for a multitude of reasons. Let alone how overdone they are especially in kids media, the real problem with turning characters into chosen ones is that it renders their own merits as a character kind of worthless, and robs them of any agency or autonomy in the plot, instead relegating them to serving the story because of mystical forces beyond their control. The typical chosen one narrative just makes for contrived stories, but fortunately this isn't quite the case in TJM. For a start, Arnold does has an invested personal stake in this adventure which gives him agency in the plot rather than him just being guided by the inscrutable forces of destiny. There is an element of destiny brought up in the movie, and this is cleverly mentioned by the film's villain who suggests fate brought him and Arnold together, but of course it's really just his conspiracy that he lured Arnold into. Arnold notably doesn't seem to fully buy into his "chosen one" status, and his only concern is saving his parents. On top of the chosen one story, throw a MacGuffin into the mix: the literal heart of gold known as the Corazon, and (wow this story has a lot of heart…) you have one big generic movie recipe. MacGuffin based stories are even more common in media than chosen ones, but are typically more forgivable if they're understated and the focus remains on the characters. It's especially forgivable in this case because the golden heart MacGuffin turns out to be a red herring by the end. Instead, a certain other golden heart ends up becoming the linchpin to the entire series, which in a brilliant twist consequentially subverts the entire chosen one narrative. Given which character actually fulfills the supposed prophecy with a certain other heart of gold, TJM proves to be more a sendup and subversion of a chosen one narrative, which is far more interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Whose Story Is It? **

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Getting to the real heart of the story requires dissecting TJM, and by extension the whole series by its screenwriting, wherein the big question is whose story really is this? A character driven story like this is built around a character arc, or want vs need of a character. By that definition, Arnold isn't really much of a protagonist because he's basically a fully actualized character from the get go, and in the end he gets exactly what he wants and needs without having to undergo any significant change of character. His selflessness is tested briefly as the villain tempts him to risk the lives of his friends to find his parents, but this doesn't have any lasting effect on him and is over and dealt with by the second act. His only real semblance of an arc concerns his relation to Helga, but Arnold always looked for the good in everyone, and so him being able to recognize that goodness in Helga is owed more to her efforts to tear down the walls she has built up. And Arnold really shouldn't have to change because as the movie constantly reminds us he's an exceptionally good person. And while identifying with a goody-two-shoes lead character can be challenging, in this series Arnold typically acted as more of a doorway into the lives of the other characters in his world, making the show less about him as a character, and more about the people in his life and the effect his altruistic nature had on them. Sure he messed up now and then to remind us he was human and not just a pseudo messianic figure (Craig Bartlett frequently refers to Arnold as a sort of 'Little Buddha'), but he still remained the moral center of the series who inspired others in his own gentle human way. Most often he acted as an external conscience to Helga, who in contrast to Arnold as the moral center of the show, she is the center of discord. Arnold's inspiration to Helga and the others ties into TJM where she rallies all the people Arnold has previously helped to band together to repay him in his time of need, by winning him the trip to San Lorenzo, which kicks off the adventure.

Despite Arnold's quasi-mystical aura, he never came across as superhuman or 'the special,' until his father's journal revealed that he apparently stopped a volcanic eruption and silenced all of nature just with his birth. Yes, that technically did happen, but it can be interpreted as a coincidence, so much that the episode even pokes fun at the convenience of the event. Arnold naturally wants to know how he stopped an eruption just by being born, but his father's journal merely states it remains a happy mystery, prompting Grandpa Phil to rightfully remark, "Well that's lame, at least he could have made something up!" While on a literal level I don't particularly care for this angle, this is another element that does work incredibly well from a thematic perspective. As previously stated, Arnold acted as the series center of serenity and peace, always able to bring out the best in everyone just by being himself, so while him stopping nature's incarnation of rage, passion, and chaos is over the top, it does perfectly highlight his purpose on the show and the impact he has on the world. Symbolic or not, it was enough for the elusive Green-Eyes people to believe Arnold was a god, which is where the story starts to steer towards the contrived (and I'm not even going to get into whether or not it's racist or colonial to have these guys worship some white kid. I don't think so, but what do I know?). Thankfully Helga shared my annoyance with Arnold being revealed as the chosen one… and then came the epiphany: identifying with Helga was the entire point. We don't need to completely identify with nigh perfect Arnold because we have Helga the horrible to remind us of our horrible selves. The plot development of Arnold as a chosen one is actually kind of a misdirection, and ultimately isn't the point of the story. To frame TJM in a completely different light, it is the story is about two self-serving characters who view Arnold as a means to get what they want. Both characters are on a relentless hunt to obtain a certain prized heart, one being Arnold's figurative heart of gold and the other a literal heart of gold, but where one of them learns selfless unconditional love, the selfish obsession of the other only leads to his demise. And that's a far stronger framing for the story, because regardless of the chosen one narrative when you break down the TJM and arguably the entire series it's not really Arnold's story; it's Helga's. She's the character who learns and changes, and in the end it's not even the supposed chosen one who saves the Green-Eyes or his parents as was prophesied; Helga saves them in the culmination of her character arc, in which she finally allows herself to be vulnerable to Arnold. And TJM is a far stronger piece when viewed as Helga's journey of learning to put someone else's needs before her own, rather than Arnold just finding his parents because he deserves closure. Fans have long theorized that Helga was the secret protagonist of HA!, and damnit now I'm gonna prove it.

Helga G. Pataki had a long journey throughout the series run, evolving from the main antagonist to the breakout star, though her character didn't so much change as the audience perception of her did. On the surface she appeared as a mean-spirited schoolyard tyrant, but as she struggled with her negligent family, feelings for Arnold, and inability to express herself in a healthy way, she revealed herself to be a shy, insecure, and deeply sensitive girl desperately wanting to feel accepted and loved, but was tragically unable to lower her guard. Her family's favoritism towards her older sister left her feeling wholly unwanted and unloved, and caused her to develop a subconscious belief that she wasn't even someone worthy of being loved. Her feelings for Arnold first developed at a young age when he showed her genuine compassion, but she turned to bullying as a defense mechanism when her peers mocked her for displaying affection towards him. While afraid of their mockery, she was even more fundamentally terrified of being rejected by them, or worse by Arnold himself, which drove her to put on a mean guise. This in turn drove her to engage in self-sabotaging behavior, creating scenarios where she could reject others rather than face the pain of being rejected herself, and while this gave her a feeling of power it ultimately isolated her. Even with all this working against her, Helga's love for Arnold often drove her to commit nobler acts in individual episodes, only for the show to have to hit the reset button and return to the status quo. There are multiple instances throughout the series of Helga proving that she's a much better person than she appears, and she often ends up going to great lengths to help Arnold and others without even claiming any credit. Now the series finale is tasked with both culminating and condensing her overarching character progression into 80 minutes, making TJM serve as sort of a microcosm of Helga's entire character arc throughout the series. It achieves this with surprising efficiency.

In fact, with regard to Helga's character development, TJM has a lot of direct parallels with one of the earlier and most beloved episodes of the series, Arnold's Christmas, which was Helga's biggest turning point as a character in season one, and actually serves as further proof that TJM does capture the spirit of the original series. Helga had already shown that she loved Arnold for his good nature by that point, but she remained an outwardly mean and selfish person while wishing to be more like him. After rewatching this episode I noticed just how much of the story is echoed in TJM, so much I have a hard time believing it could be coincidental. In Arnold's Christmas, Arnold is on a quest to reunite a parent (his neighbor Mr. Hyunh) with their child to give them a perfect Christmas, while Helga is out to impress Arnold with a flashy gift without understanding the spirit of the holiday. After witnessing Arnold almost lose hope, Helga is touched by the Christmas spirit (personified by Arnold) and sacrifices her most coveted belonging to save the day and reunite Mr. Hyunh with his daughter. In TJM Arnold seeks to reunite with his own parents while Helga is again trying to impress him for selfish reasons, but after witnessing Arnold lose all hope she elects to help him out of pure selfless love, and in the end offers up her most prized belonging to save Arnold's parents. To paraphrase George Lucas, the Christmas episode and TJM are like poetry, they rhyme.

The basic story structure of the movie supports the idea of Helga being the protagonist as well. The point of attack is normally out of the protagonist's control but it creates a story element for the protagonist to react to which becomes the inciting incident that gets the plot going. TJM begins with the point of attack in which Arnold is struggling to find a way to find his lost parents. The Helpers for Humanity contest combined with Arnold's subsequent failure to win it then prompts Helga to win it for him, with her efforts serving as the inciting incident. She states her want is to win Arnold's eternal gratitude, which sets up the real central conflict of the story: her trying to win Arnold's love. In the beginning her motives are corrupt however, as she doesn't understand or even care about Arnold's emotional needs. She only wants him to satisfy her own needs, and is trying to force him to love her in return. Her insincerity is even subtly emphasized visually by her standing in the shadows as she plots to win Arnold over as if it were one of her usual evil plans. In the second act when Arnold has hit his lowest point, Helga chooses to help him out of pure genuine care, regardless of what she may gain from it. During her declaration of selfless love she is illuminated by a small light, and then fully steps out of the shadows to emphasize her newfound sincerity. TJM is full of clever subtle visual cues in the 'show don't tell; storytelling style (even though Helga is constantly telling us what's going on… she's just that talented that it never wrecks the story), many of which manifest as specific characters, non the least of which being Helga's own personal stalker...


	5. Chapter 5

_**The Love of Villainy**_

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It's not really possible to fully analyze Helga's feelings without discussing Brainy, whose role in the movie directly mirrors her arc. Craig Bartlett has suggested that Brainy is a somewhat supernatural character, and potentially even a figment of Helga's own imagination that manifested into flesh. That notion does point to his actual role in the series, which proves much deeper than just him being on the receiving end of a long running gag; at the height of most of Helga's lovesick rants, Brainy would conveniently appear over her shoulder wheezing creepily, only to be socked in the face for his intrusion. TJM solidifies his true purpose, and that's to serve as the personification of Helga's feelings, both healthy and unhealthy. His presence typically acts as a representation of Helga's obsession; appearing as a creeper as if to remind Helga that she is kind of a creeper herself. From a more positive viewpoint, Brainy personified her love for Arnold, and whenever she found herself getting too passionately lovestruck, she would shut down both her feelings and Brainy by association. This idea is supported by TJM where Brainy comes to represent Helga's growing understanding of unconditional love. Brainy has been present for nearly all of Helga's soliloquies, so even if he loves her, he also knows that she loves Arnold, and he ultimately just wants her to be happy. Towards the end of the first act, after Helga unsuccessfully tries to force Arnold to love her back, she breaks down and throws her locket into the river, so devastated that she tries to convince herself that she is over him. Brainy however knows better, and risks his life to return it to her. As an avatar of her love, Brainy's deeds illustrate what Helga has subsequently comes to realize about relationships requiring putting another's needs before her own. No longer ashamed of her feelings for Arnold, she kisses Brainy, and sets off with renewed passion to save Arnold's parents. None of this is ever stated in the movie, making Brainy's whole role a perfect example of showing not telling. Helga's whole struggle to overcome her self-centeredness is also cleverly (or maybe just coincidentally) exemplified by the film's main villain Lasombra, who has basically replaced her as Arnold's nemesis.

Lasombra's character arose as another common point criticism among audiences, primarily focusing on his seemingly banal motivation: greed, which I don't think is entirely fair. I agree greed isn't a terribly interesting or personal driving motive in fiction, and considering this guy had a history with Arnold's parents he never gives the impression that he's driven by revenge, nor is he even responsible for their disappearance as everyone long suspected. To him Arnold is just a means to an end, and his parents were a mere obstacle, which does make his villainy seem slightly impersonal. While mere greed as a driving motive typically makes for a dull villain, in this case it actually works as a perfect counterpoint to Arnold, who is selfless and genuinely values people as people. Plus Lasombra's true motive is arguably more than just greed; his defining characteristics are his self-preservation and predatory nature. Lasombra is completely obsessed with the hunt itself, willing to sacrifice, use and abuse anyone to get what he wants, all while enjoying the hell out of it. He prides himself on having stolen countless relics in his life but is still after the staple of his career: the Corazon, so really his motivation is more criminal vanity and ego.

The most compelling angle with Lasombra is one I'm not sure the writers even intended, but not only is he a complete antithesis of Arnold, he's also basically Helga's dark side personified. Early in the series Helga served as the main antagonist, and she wasn't just an average bully but basically a hammy cartoon villain always wringing her hands and laughing maniacally as she plotted evil schemes, so in many respects Lasombra's brand of villainy is a reflection of Helga's worst qualities. As a ruthless treasure hunter out to exploit Arnold for his own gain, Lasombra clearly mirrors Helga's own obsessive interest in Arnold. He is purely interested in the Corazon as a trophy, with no appreciation for its cultural value to the Green-Eyes, similar to how Helga only wants Arnold to satisfy her own emotional needs without comprehending his. The way in which both characters present themselves too cleverly mirror one another. Even after revealing himself as the villain, Lasombra still acts charming and even affable towards his enemies and henchmen, but as the gloves slowly come off he's revealed as a monstrous sociopath. Helga meanwhile has an inversely parallel portrayal; appearing brash, self-absorbed, or just flat-out threatening, but as with Lasombra, how she appears on the surface is a facade. As the layers of her character peel back we see her to be a tender-hearted girl too afraid to reveal her true self. Sure Helga is pretty awful at her worst, but she doesn't self-actualize by being tough, brash and nasty, rather she self-actualizes by being vulnerable and emotionally present for Arnold and validating those feelings. This returns to the protagonist's want vs need. What Helga wants is for Arnold to love her, but what she needs is to get over herself and learn that love means putting someone else's needs first. And boy does she ever work for it, risking her life to rescue the whole class, guiding Arnold to the Green-Eyes, leading the fight against Lasombra, and finally giving Arnold her own heart, literally and figuratively by offering her prized gold-plated heart locket as a substitute for the lost Corazon.

And it may have been completely unintentional, but there are two direct lines drawn between the two characters that lend credence to this argument. The first connection is through Abner, Arnold's pet pig, who first expresses his distrust and animosity towards Helga, then later in the film he similarly sniffs out Lasombra posing as Eduardo. The second connection between them concerns the Corazon. There's a lovely little moment that serves as planting to the end payoff, where Helga again directly parallels Lasombra by staring into the Corazon. 'The Journal' established that one dare not look directly at the Corazon due to its sacredness, which I assumed meant it was intended at the time to have Ark of the Covenant powers… but not quite. It doesn't quite radiate and decimate anyone bold enough to look upon it, but the protective vessel holding the heart does seem to be able to judge ones true heart. Lasombra receives a venomous dart to the forehead after shoving Arnold out of his way to claim the heart as his prize. Soon after, Helga too becomes entranced by the heart, staring into it not with greed in her eyes however, but with awe and deeper understanding. True, she never sought to take the treasure in the first place, but this is Helga's big moment of self-actualization where she finally recognizes her own hidden heart of gold and therefore has no need for the Corazon. She also notices the Corazon is slightly tilted on its side, which becomes important later. The Corazon is revealed to be the key to activating an ancient machine that will spread the cure to a sleeping sickness that has affected Arnold's parents and the Green-Eyes people, but after losing the heart in a battle with Lasombra, the heroes have to get creative and this is where Helga really shines.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Soulmates**_

The twist with Helga using her heart locket to save Arnold's parents is by far the most ingenious element of the movie. It might have been a little predictable but it's still executed just perfectly. Her locket has been a present element since the series began, but was rarely if ever central to the plot of an episode. Symbolically, Helga is not so subtly earnestly giving Arnold her heart when she offers it to him, and this moment encapsulates all her trials against her worse instincts. She is at last tearing down every wall she has built up and genuinely putting herself on the line. Throughout the series she went to extreme lengths to get Arnold's attention in some artificial roundabout way, but would always realize that she was trying to force their relationship rather than simply being open about her feelings. Now she's finally conquering her greatest fear of risking Arnold's rejection. And for her efforts, Arnold finally sees her for the kind of person she really is.

Now to return to why the chosen one narrative works surprisingly well here, after Helga gives Arnold her locket and he attempts to place it in the machine, he of course can't figure out how. Helga, even with her newfound compassion is still Helga and impatiently intervenes, turning the locket slightly to its side causing it to slide into place. She has just fulfilled her promise from 'The Journal' to fill the void in Arnold's heart, quite literally. Better still, Helga being the one to activate the machine quietly renders the entire prophecy moot. The Green-Eyes don't quite see it that way of course, and this harkens back to individual episodes throughout the series in which Helga played the hero and helped Arnold without his knowledge, and ultimately received no thanks or appreciation for her anonymous efforts. As usual the universe refuses to acknowledge her, after the cure works its magic and saves the city, all of its inhabitants are still chanting Arnold's name. Fortunately, even if society at large never recognizes her, the one person who really matters to Helga does. Expressing his respect and appreciation for Helga, Arnold too opens himself up and the two share their first (consensual) kiss. Yeah, Helga conspired to create situations before where she could steal a kiss from Arnold, be it in a school play or giving CPR, or that kind of cringe-worthy smooch she forced on him in Hey Arnold! The Movie, but this is the first time they've been mutually emotionally present and genuine about their affection for one another. More importantly, this culminates both their character arcs to where they are now complete people and have something to offer in regards to a relationship. Yes, even Arnold.

TJM made me realize that Arnold too has had a character journey, which was easy to miss given how subtle it was. Throughout the series his view of Helga evolved as he slowly started to piece together who she really was, and in the final season there were several hints that he had developed feelings for her subconsciously, but he wasn't in a place to admit that to himself. Moreover, Arnold wasn't in a place where he could open himself up to real feelings of love because he was preoccupied with the hole in his heart caused by his parents' absence. Having Helga serve as the key to solving this problem ties their stories together perfectly. To backtrack slightly on my earlier assertions that Arnold isn't the true protagonist, Helga's story is indeed more compelling than Arnold's, but the whole piece is strongest when viewed as both their stories and how these two soulmates come together. And that's the metaphysical pink bow that ties everything together; the movie centers on these two characters completing one another. Arnold and Helga's wants and needs directly tie into one another and both serve to complete one others arc. Arnold wants to find his parents, but needs to accept Helga's love to do this, where Helga wants Arnold to love her, but needs to find and save his parents so he can open himself to her. Most of what I've discussed in this analysis happens in the subtext, much of it is never stated, and that's how it should be in Hey Arnold! After looking over The Jungle Movie carefully I can say not only is it a fine conclusion to the series, but manages to encapsulate most if not all of what made the series so lovable. The heart of the story remains where it should, and that is Arnold and Helga completing one another.

On top of the movie itself being a fun ride, all the clever thematic implications make TJM a triumph, serving as a love letter and more than satisfying conclusion to a heartfelt series.

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_**Woosh. Well, I hope that was as thought provoking for you as it was for me and my little mind. I'd appreciate any and all feedback, whether you agree or disagree with my analysis. I'd love to hear if anyone else sees what I see in this movie.**_


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